Wednesday, February 25, 2015

How to Determine the Amount of Effort to put into an Assignment.

How to determine the amount of effort to put into an assignment.
As a High School student enrolled in advanced classes, I often struggle with a lack of sleep due to high pressure from assignments. Frequently I will spend hours on homework from one class per night, but how much stress is too much stress? You have to know what type of assignment you are dealing with in order to make the right decision on how much effort you should apply to a task.
      Homework and out of class assignments can be separated into three basic categories: simple, in depth, and complex.
      The simple “did you read the text” assignment is generally worth 0 to 40 points in your grade. It is due the day after it is assigned, and is not something to be majorly stressed about. If you didn’t do the reading you shouldn’t be staying up until three in the morning to catch up, rather write out what you know, and if that is absolutely nothing, then you might want to try spark notes.
      The next type of assignment is the “In depth analysis “. This type of homework requires a little more thought and is usually worth about 40 to 150 points of your grade. These assignments you should definitely focus on because they will help you edge more toward an A- than a B+.  Usually the teacher will give you around a week to complete these, and it is vital that you do not wait until the last minute because the questions always seem trickier when you are under pressure.
      The last type of assignment is the Complex assignment. This is a make or break  senior project grade due at the end of the semester and will determine your GPA for that year. If you get an F on this assignment it could easily take you from an A- all the way to a C. Do not procrastinate. While you should focus on the “In depth analysis” assignments weekly you should be slowly chipping away at this assignment as well. Set weekly goals that you tick off on the calendar so that the deadline does not sneak up on you.

      Instead of staying awake until three in the morning to finish that simple 20 point assignment you should rest up, write a quick paragraph to show that you put effort into it, and prepare for the bigger assignments that will either destroy or carry your grade point average.

1 comment:

  1. What you have here is good. See if you can extend each category with a detailed example of a specific assignment (perhaps a personal story from the past or a story that you have heard about). Also think about shortening you title to something like: How to determine "time" needed for an assignment... or something less clunky.

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